M6 Blog Post
Advantages of Integrating Technology:
Integrating technology to help students learn a foreign language can be extremely helpful for both English Language Learners and foreign language learning. The students can speak with and write to people from all around the world that speak the language they are trying to learn to bring a purpose to learning a new language. It can also bring an ease to incorporating different subjects as well as different languages into your content area subjects in your classroom. By using technology within your classroom to help students learn a foreign language, you will open up doors for your students while not having to spend hours planning time consuming activities and lessons.
Disadvantages of Integrating Technology:
Issues with integrating ELL into the classroom with technology is the demands on content area teachers. Teachers are faced with the challenge of teaching all the content area subjects to students with limited English proficiency. The need to differentiate instruction in your classroom will depend on the diversity of students within your classroom, but will most likely be demanding of your time and instructional ability. Challenges of integrating the students' native languages is also something that is very important to the growth of your classroom and your students learning. Incorporating authentic materials and perspectives along with giving your students motivation and purpose would be difficult without the use of technology.
Specific Activities and Programs:
Support for authentic oral language: Scholastic interactive story books, Rosetta Stone, and many leapfrog products.
Virtual Field trips: Tramline virtual field trips
Practice in language subskills: English Banana, ELL Software for Scchools, Tower of English.
Integrating technology to help students learn a foreign language can be extremely helpful for both English Language Learners and foreign language learning. The students can speak with and write to people from all around the world that speak the language they are trying to learn to bring a purpose to learning a new language. It can also bring an ease to incorporating different subjects as well as different languages into your content area subjects in your classroom. By using technology within your classroom to help students learn a foreign language, you will open up doors for your students while not having to spend hours planning time consuming activities and lessons.
Disadvantages of Integrating Technology:
Issues with integrating ELL into the classroom with technology is the demands on content area teachers. Teachers are faced with the challenge of teaching all the content area subjects to students with limited English proficiency. The need to differentiate instruction in your classroom will depend on the diversity of students within your classroom, but will most likely be demanding of your time and instructional ability. Challenges of integrating the students' native languages is also something that is very important to the growth of your classroom and your students learning. Incorporating authentic materials and perspectives along with giving your students motivation and purpose would be difficult without the use of technology.
Specific Activities and Programs:
Support for authentic oral language: Scholastic interactive story books, Rosetta Stone, and many leapfrog products.
Virtual Field trips: Tramline virtual field trips
Practice in language subskills: English Banana, ELL Software for Scchools, Tower of English.
I agree that technology can provide ease with incorporating different subjects as well as different languages in the classroom. However, I do feel that it is true that integrating technology can become time consuming for general education teachers. Your future classroom can greatly benefit from the use of technology in the classroom if it is used wisely!
ReplyDeleteI really cannot wait until I get into the classroom and can work with ELL students. I am going try and contact people in countries that speak my students language and see if they can develop some kind of pen pal. It does take a lot of extra time but in the end the children will blossom in cultural and native environments.
ReplyDeleteI think to begin with it will be a time consuming task until you and your students become accustomed to it. Hopefully, after a few weeks and you have built up your resources you will be able to navigate easily as well as your students!
ReplyDelete